During the Domestication and Commercialization of Non-timber Forest Products for Agroforestry Systems Conference, 19-23 February 1996, the delegates made the following recommendation:
· recognizing that non-timber forest products (NTFPs) have played a traditional role in the feeding of people throughout the tropics;
· recognizing that NTFPs play an important role in food security, especially in dry years;
· recognizing that NTFPs play a crucial role in the health and nutrition of people in tropical countries;
· recognizing that the sale of NTFPs allows people the freedom to purchase essential inputs in support of agriculture;
· recognizing that through domestication many NTFPs can be improved qualitatively and quantitatively to be more attractive to farmers, more marketable and so contribute to the alleviation of malnutrition and poverty,
This conference recommends that FAO includes edible non-timber forest products, and their domestication, on the agenda of the forthcoming World Food Summit.
Kernels of Irvingia gabonensis and Ricinodendron heudelottii on a market stall in Kumba, Cameroon. Products of many tropical trees worthy of domestication are traded locally and regionally in this way. Domestication of such trees requires that these traditional markets be expanded.
